Stevie Nicks Called This Singer a Musical “Slave Driver” in Controversial Remarks

The Reality Behind Music

From the outside, music looks like a joyful activity. Tours seem exciting, rehearsal rooms appear fun, and writing or learning a song seems playful. Being in a band might appear like spending time with friends. Stevie Nicks would likely disagree.

A clear example is her time with Fleetwood Mac. No one would imagine the atmosphere while making Rumours was relaxed or social. Instead, it was a constant effort to keep going for the music. The band became slaves to the sound — whenever it called, they had to respond. The album was created through tension, with the work itself taking priority over comfort.

Making Rumours

The success of Rumours came after months of difficult confrontations. The band even had a survival plan: the women stayed in one apartment and the men in another. This separation ensured they would only meet in the studio, where conflict could be redirected into the music rather than erupting into fights.

Nicks became skilled at the grit-your-teeth method of making music. However, the struggles within her own band were mostly emotional. She experienced the other side when working with a perfectionist artist and saw how demanding that could be.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by My Rock Moment (@la_woman_rocks)

Perfectionists in Music

The music world has always had stories about perfectionist personalities. These are artists who cannot allow a single detail to go unchecked. They can spend days in the studio polishing a sound or push the musicians around them, expecting every note to match an exact vision. Humans alone often cannot compete with such strict standards.

For Nicks, Kenny Loggins fit this type. When the two worked together, he pushed her hard, insisting on absolute precision. “I was afraid it might be my only shot with her, so I pushed pretty hard,” he admitted.

Collaborating on ‘Whenever I Call You ‘Friend’’

The collaboration took place for Loggins’ 1978 second album. He invited Nicks to duet on the song, but the project was more demanding than expected. Nicks recalled, “I called him Slave Driver Loggins. He cracked the whip on me for two days to get that particular performance.” What was supposed to be a simple, fun session became intense as she repeated the song over and over until it was perfect.

Despite the tough process, Loggins recognized her effort. “To her credit, she was a total pro who also didn’t want to give up until it was perfect,” he said. His comment suggested Nicks might be equally detail-focused, though she maintained a lighter approach or at least understood the demands. “The process was difficult and exhilarating; we probably laughed as much as we sang that night,” he added, even if Nicks remembers the experience differently.